Amsterdam Applied Gaming Research Community

A research community for scholars and game designers that are interested in the application of games beyond entertainment purposes.

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Amsterdam Applied Gaming Research Community

A research community for scholars and game designers that are interested in the application of games beyond entertainment purposes.

Games for behavioural change SYMPOSIUM, January 28

The Game Studies master programme of the University of Amsterdam is proud to announce its first Games for Behavioural Change Symposium. It will be held on Thursday, January 28, from 13:00 till 18:30h in Science Park 904, auditorium C0.05.

We are excited to have as keynote speaker Prof. dr. Pamela Kato (Serious Games Institute, Coventry University). Prof. Kato is an internationally recognized expert on serious games for health (with a background in psychology and counseling), and designer of the award-winning cancer-treatment game 'Re-Mission'. In addition, we are most pleased to announce as speakers Prof. dr. Reinout Wiers (University of Amsterdam) and Hans Luijckx (IJsfontein). Prof. Wiers investigates game-related aspects of developmental psychology, addiction, and cognitive bias modification. Mr. Luijckx is operational manager of numerous projects on playful learning for (public) interactive experiences.

Moreover, we are proud to showcase the Games for Behavioural Change Projects on which five groups of master student have been working for the past half year. The projects address real-world challenges for Cordaan (well-being of elderly citizens with dementia), Radboud University (anxiety training for children), Mainline (prevention of substance abuse), Hogeschool van Amsterdam (digital privacy awareness), and Wonderwel (technological awareness and wonder).

Attendance to the symposium is free of charge.You do not need to register in order to attend.

Stefan leijnen

KAREL MILLENAAR

Lectoraat Play and Civic Media

Keywords: Playful interaction in public spaces, interaction design, concept development

What is our mission?

Applied Gaming (or Serious Gaming) refers to the use of computer games and game principles for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. Applications of gaming can be found in a wide variety of domains, including health care, education, and social safety. Applied gaming is one of the focus areas of the Creative Industry top sector, a sector in which the Netherlands is a top-10 player in the international field.

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What is our mission?

Applied Gaming (or Serious Gaming) refers to the use of computer games and game principles for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. Applications of gaming can be found in a wide variety of domains, including health care, education, and social safety. Applied gaming is one of the focus areas of the Creative Industry top sector, a sector in which the Netherlands is a top-10 player in the international field.

Founded in October 2014 by Sander Bakkes (UvA) & Tibor Bosse (VU), the Amsterdam Applied Gaming Research Community aims to bring together people from different backgrounds who share an interest in research on Applied Gaming. Such research may involve scientific questions from various disciplines, including, but not limited to, Computer Science (e.g., how can we design and implement games?), Artificial Intelligence (e.g., how can we make games adaptive to the needs of the player?), Psychology (e.g., how can we increase and evaluate the effectiveness of games?), and Social Science (e.g., what is the impact of game characteristics on player experience?).

The community serves as an informal platform where researchers can, among others, get to know each other, initiate research collaborations, and form consortia for grant proposals. By doing so, it attempts to build a bridge between the different research institutes and groups in Amsterdam with an interest in Applied Gaming. Additionally, the community provides opportunities for game companies to be informed about the state-of-the-art in Applied Gaming research in Amsterdam, hence also building a bridge between academia and industry.